Well, it’s official. After much resistance to what is now commonplace all around me, I’ve fallen for Apple and their trendy (and possibly magical) iPad, the touch tablet sensation that needs little introduction but comes with limitless fanfare. A large part of my conversion was in large part due to Ambient Design's ArtRage (ver. 1.2 reviewed) for iPad, which brings much of the budget-minded program's illustrative ability to a completely touchscreen environment, complete with an expansive tool and style preset library that rivals full-size design applications twice its size. As someone who only recently came to know (and love) ArtRage for home computers, I was excited to put the mobile version through its paces. While its not as robust an artistic solution as the full version for PC/Mac, only the crustiest luddite would fail to see the potential in bringing these robust creation tools to a wider audience, and smart interoperability and scads of options make it a great companion for those looking for smart illustration on the go.

The iPad version borrows much of the same basic look and feel of its PC/Mac cousins, with an easel-like interface that makes great use of the tablet's touchscreen display. Large, detailed icons give the UI an intimate feel that's unlike anything that I've ever used before, with everything from individual brushes, pens, and even crayons (!) immediately identifiable from one another. Only essentials such as the expandable tools and color dock panels are constantly present, while more complex editing functions such as layers and preset windows can permanently stay on-screen if you choose.

It's obvious that much thought went into tailoring the original program's comparably bigger interface for Apple's tablet, and its difficult for someone steeped in traditional tools not to feel pangs of nostalgic excitement when zipping through some of the available tools.

Even in its miniaturized form, ArtRage retains much of the robust artistic toolsets and style presets of the PC/Mac version, as well as the impressive variety of canvas textures that look and react alarmingly like the paper they're based on. Some tools (specifically paints) can be diluted in water for a pure, natural-looking effort and this is even before you create your own custom presets. Most of the carryovers from version 3.5 have survived intact; with some tool effect options diminished or omitted completely, but most probably won’t miss them, let alone notice considering the abundance of riches that are still available.

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of ArtRage for iPad is with one of its defining features, which is to faithfully reproduce the 'feel' of drawing directly onto the tablet screen. Sadly, there is some lag between guiding your finger across the screen and its result; those expecting 1:1 real-time drawing should prepare themselves, especially when crafting quick, deliberate strokes. To be fair, the delay isn't entirely out-of-step with the performance of using a digital tablet (for the PC) with a standard design program, and you probably shouldn't expect to se pinpoint accuracy when painting with your fingers, anyway. Wacom does make a tablet-friendly stylus that promises improved accuracy, but I wasn't able to test it for myself at the time of this review.

Many of the same sharing options of its bigger cousin exist here, too, such as the ability to record script files (for processing and demonstration playback) and export them through iTunes or email for use on the PC/Mac version. You’ll also be able to save your potentially layer-intensive files to work on later, which is critical as every other import format except for .PNG is regrettably absent. As you'll most likely be creating and editing solely within the ArtRage ecosystem this probably won't be that big a deal for most users, as you'll still be able to continue editing your work using the native .PTG format.

As tablets continue their march to mobile dominance, it's great to see intensive creation software like ArtRage make great use of their potential, especially for late converts like myself who may want to practice their digital artistic skills away from their regular (and bigger) computers. In this respect the iPad version may be better than its computer cousin, as it not only helps showcase the creation possibilities of the platform, but features smart interoperability like script recording that turns it into a real production companion tool. Some will undoubtedly struggle with the input lag between your finger and result, but this is a bearable annoyance for having such an impressive set of virtual tools and options readily available. Without question, this is the best and most comprehensive design tool available yet for the iPad.